Former Murderdolls / Dope Drummer Ben Graves Dead at 45

Former Murderdolls / Dope drummer Ben Graves has died at age 45. His death was announced by his fiancee Lydia, who revealed Graves had been battling cancer for the last 11 months.

Graves rose to prominence with the Murderdolls in 2002. Despite not recording drums for Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls or the Right to Remain Violent EP, Graves was a steadfast member of the Murderdolls until 2004. From there, Ben Graves moved on to Dope, manning the kit from 2005-2006.

Lydia Munster released the official statement regarding Ben Graves’ death:

This is incredibly hard for me to write this, but I know it is necessary because Ben has so many friends and fans.

Most of you don’t know that Ben has been battling cancer for the last 11 months. It was his decision to keep his health very quiet.

Ben passed away today, May 9th 2018, from complications due to his cancer. His diagnosis was grim but he fought a long and hard battle to try and beat it and overcome the odds. Some battles can’t be won no matter how hard you try.

Please respect me, his family and close friends while we grieve. Even though we knew it was eventually coming, the complication was sudden and very unexpected.

It’s devastating to lose someone you love more than yourself. My heart is broken, my heart died with him.

We will be taking him home to Massachusetts. I will organize a memorial for Ben’s LA friends, details to follow.